Live rock? Life rock? Bio block?

[Zbutcher]

Hey everyone,

I am going to be setting up a giant coral flat for farming coral. I have been in the hobby for a couple years but I do have a question.

Historically I've used life rock by Carib sea as an alternative to liverock as the last time I used live rock and got pests like crazy. So I would rather not risk it. But this coral I'm putting the biomedia in the sump. Problem I don't know which one to choose.

Should I go live rock and let the tank run fallow for 4 months? Even still I think that's too risky.

What about life rock? That's what I currently have and could transfer that however it might be contaminated with some tap water stuff (I have since bought an RODI unit I've learned my lesson)

I actually would not mind going with straight up bioblocks but someone told me that they have been known to leech a crap ton of aluminum in the water for some reason?

What do you guys think the best method is?

 

[Azedenkae]

Hey everyone,

I am going to be setting up a giant coral flat for farming coral. I have been in the hobby for a couple years but I do have a question.

Historically I've used life rock by Carib sea as an alternative to liverock as the last time I used live rock and got pests like crazy. So I would rather not risk it. But this coral I'm putting the biomedia in the sump. Problem I don't know which one to choose.

Should I go live rock and let the tank run fallow for 4 months? Even still I think that's too risky.

What about life rock? That's what I currently have and could transfer that however it might be contaminated with some tap water stuff (I have since bought an RODI unit I've learned my lesson)

I actually would not mind going with straight up bioblocks but someone told me that they have been known to leech a crap ton of aluminum in the water for some reason?

What do you guys think the best method is?

Personally, just grab bioblocks (MarinePure in particular). MarinePure is believed to leach aluminium, but either 1. it does not leach enough to actually cause issues, or 2. leach in a form that does not cause issues. It was a scare for a while, but a lot of aquariums running MarinePure for prolonged durations without issue, myself included, so yeah. Not actually a problem as once thought.

If you want to be sure though, I'd suggest just using your Life Rock over. It may be contaminated by tap water but does not really matter that much. Tap water in and of itself is not necessarily 'bad', unless it has a lot of contaminants that may cause issues. If you want to be sure, just soak the rocks in RODI water (a few times) and that'll dilute things enough. A few time being like three times or whatever, and it should be all good.

I would not suggest live rock in your case if you are afraid of pests. There is always a chance of introducing pests later on when you add corals or whatever, but of course it is still more 'controlled' even then. So yeah. ^_^

If you want me to explain anything in further detail, let me know.

 

[Zbutcher]

Personally, just grab bioblocks (MarinePure in particular). MarinePure is believed to leach aluminium, but either 1. it does not leach enough to actually cause issues, or 2. leach in a form that does not cause issues. It was a scare for a while, but a lot of aquariums running MarinePure for prolonged durations without issue, myself included, so yeah. Not actually a problem as once thought.

If you want to be sure though, I'd suggest just using your Life Rock over. It may be contaminated by tap water but does not really matter that much. Tap water in and of itself is not necessarily 'bad', unless it has a lot of contaminants that may cause issues. If you want to be sure, just soak the rocks in RODI water (a few times) and that'll dilute things enough. A few time being like three times or whatever, and it should be all good.

I would not suggest live rock in your case if you are afraid of pests. There is always a chance of introducing pests later on when you add corals or whatever, but of course it is still more 'controlled' even then. So yeah. ^_^

If you want me to explain anything in further detail, let me know.

Wow thanks for so much detail I really appreciate it. How long have you been running bioblocks?

So if that is the case why were people losing it saying they leach aluminum?

Yeah I could. Like I said I'm just worried that my life rock will re-leach stuff if that makes sense hahaha

 

[Azedenkae]

Wow thanks for so much detail I really appreciate it. How long have you been running bioblocks?

So if that is the case why were people losing it saying they leach aluminum?

Yeah I could. Like I said I'm just worried that my life rock will re-leach stuff if that makes sense hahaha

People were seeing elevated levels of Alu readings from tests they did that seemed to only be attributable to MarinePure and similar. People were losing it just because it was an elevated amount above a 'normal' baseline. But then again, any measurable amount of nitrite in the aquarium is likely above the 'normal' baseline too, though we have stopped losing it over that when we realized that nitrite has to be at very high concentrations to start affecting live stock. Like 25ppm to start causing disease in ocellaris clownfish for example, and a lot more than that to kill them. So yeah, just because something is different from 'normal' seawater does not mean it is necessarily bad.